Falls in individuals are recognized as a major health and welfare issue in the elderly, infirmed, or disabled population and with regard to community helpers, such as firefighters, police, or the like. Monitoring falls in the elderly has been recognized as a growing problem due in part to our aging population. In many instances, continuous monitoring of these individuals is necessary to render aid when needed, and prevent further major health issues that result from a fall. Research has shown there is a direct correlation between major health issues and the amount of time an individual remains in a fall position. Current monitoring devices for the elderly, infirmed, or disabled are typically in the form of a device that requires user input, such as push button activation, to alert the monitor that a fall event or other emergency has occurred. The problem with this type of monitoring device is that many times the individual being monitored is not in a condition to activate the control, such as when a fall has occurred and the individual is rendered unconscious.
In addition, monitoring of police and firefighters when entering dangerous situations, is needed. Similar to falls in the elderly, infirmed or disabled, falls by firefighters and police when in danger require monitoring without user input to activate an alarm. For example, many instances of falls of firefighters occur when entering a building and the firefighter is overwhelmed by smoke due to smoke inhalation that results in unconsciousness. A firefighter might fall when struck by falling debris. In addition, falls from ladders, etc. and subsequent injury may occur where no one else is present at the time of the fall. As stated above, the activation of a monitoring device, such as pushing a button, requires the fallen individual to be conscious. As was the case previously, this requirement presents a problem when the fallen individual is unconscious or otherwise unable to activate the device.
Detecting the occurrence of falls and the status of the individual post-fall is needed in a device that is accurate and convenient. Unfortunately, prior methods for detecting a fall have required the individual seeking help to activate a control that submits an alert to the monitoring person or entity. Thus, what is needed is an improved system and method for detecting when a person falls down that is reliable and efficient and does not require user activation.